Tacoma - Still King Of the Hill

[teg]

THIS IS ONLY MY OPINION!!! I hate my 2009 Tacoma... I can not think of one thing I like about it. With real life MPG @ 15-16 for most of the time, I could have had a real truck. Paid $38k, IIRC. ONLY thing I'm betting on is that it better last a life time. Mobil One synthetic every 5k. If it doesn't need a major repair, I will be happy.

Things I don't like, if you slow down to round a corner then accelerate, the transmission drops to first gear, has to rev up to 2.5 - 3k before it decides to shift. You let off the gas to coast down hill, the transmission shifts down to "brake" so I'm constantly having to putting it in Neutral. (yes, everyday)

Don't get me started with the cruise control... truck will down shift going downhill with the cruise on so when it gets to the bottom, it has to floor it to get up the next hill. 5 mph under then 4-5 mph over the set speed, NOT worth a hoot. Granted at work, I have a Ram that once you set the speed... it never changes.

Sorry but an oil filter pointing up is a dumb idea...

END of Rant...

 

[troutsqueezer]

Y

THIS IS ONLY MY OPINION!!! I hate my 2009 Tacoma... I can not think of one thing I like about it. With real life MPG @ 15-16 for most of the time, I could have had a real truck. Paid $38k, IIRC. ONLY thing I'm betting on is that it better last a life time. Mobil One synthetic every 5k. If it doesn't need a major repair, I will be happy.

Things I don't like, if you slow down to round a corner then accelerate, the transmission drops to first gear, has to rev up to 2.5 - 3k before it decides to shift. You let off the gas to coast down hill, the transmission shifts down to "brake" so I'm constantly having to putting it in Neutral. (yes, everyday)

Don't get me started with the cruise control... truck will down shift going downhill with the cruise on so when it gets to the bottom, it has to floor it to get up the next hill. 5 mph under then 4-5 mph over the set speed, NOT worth a hoot. Granted at work, I have a Ram that once you set the speed... it never changes.

Sorry but an oil filter pointing up is a dumb idea...

END of Rant...

Strangely, the things that you list as shortcomings are some of the things I like about my new Tacoma.

If you're using synthetic, you should be able to go every 10k miles before a change.

I go up and down hills a lot since I live in the CA foothills. When going downhill I used to pull my 2000 Prerunner out of overdrive so the tranny would slow the truck instead of heating up the brakes. Now the truck does it for me. I love it. BTW, it will not downshift if you are above a certain speed.

Cruise control should be used on relatively flat ground, according to most user manuals.

An easy-to-reach oil filter is a luxury especially after you try to change one on your Polaris Ranger.

I know you said this is only your opinion and reading into said opinion where you differentiate the Tacoma from "real trucks" reveals something about your thought process and renders the points you make somewhat meaningless. Just sell it if it makes you as angry as your post lets on. Life's too short to settle on something that makes you so unhappy. Both you and the truck will be better off.

 

[RalphVa]

Took our 2005 Tacoma 2.7 L from Charlottesville to Columbus ONCE. Had to go down to 3rd gear on a couple of those mountains and down to aroun 60ish mph. Whereas, our 2010 VW Jetta TDI blythely goes up those same mountains in cruise in 6th gear without losing any speed, as though the mountains aren't there. On one of the mountains, had to gear down to 5th to keep from picking up speed on the VW.

The Tacoma 2.7 L is a turd on the road. Good appliance but an absolutely performance turd.

The 2005's mileage is about 26 mpg overall, about the same as the 1996's. Gets 28 mpg on highway vs. 30 on the 1996. Absolutely pushing too much air and 500 more #, about 250 # more than the Jetta.

Ralph

 

[Jstpssng]

Took our 2005 Tacoma 2.7 L from Charlottesville to Columbus ONCE. Had to go down to 3rd gear on a couple of those mountains and down to aroun 60ish mph. Whereas, our 2010 VW Jetta TDI blythely goes up those same mountains in cruise in 6th gear without losing any speed, as though the mountains aren't there. On one of the mountains, had to gear down to 5th to keep from picking up speed on the VW.

The Tacoma 2.7 L is a turd on the road. Good appliance but an absolutely performance turd.

The 2005's mileage is about 26 mpg overall, about the same as the 1996's. Gets 28 mpg on highway vs. 30 on the 1996. Absolutely pushing too much air and 500 more #, about 250 # more than the Jetta.

Ralph

ER- I can't believe that you just compared the performance of an economy truck with that of a Jetta.

Think about that for a minute.

Hook a 3500 lb boat up to each vehicle, your results with most likely differ. (The Tacoma will still be a dog, but it'll get you where you want to go.)

I understand what you're saying though, when I had my '91 there were times, if I had my ATV in back, where I would use low range to get moving, then speed shift into hi.
I often threatened to turn it into a "hybrid", cutting holes in the floorboards, yelling " YabbaDabbaDoo!" and propelling it Fred Flintstone style.

 

[rtimgray]

One of the things that I like about the Tacoma is the ease of access to the oil filter. I always have a little leak out when I pull it off, but I use a syringe to suck it up and dump it in the recycle jug.

I haven't had any issues with the transmission shifting too much/not enough or cruise control. Our mileage is about 18-22, depending on what we're doing. It's certainly not great, but it's about what I expected.

Good luck and take care.

 

[dfkrug]

One of the things that I like about the Tacoma is the ease of access to the
oil filter. I always have a little leak out when I pull it off, but I use a syringe to suck it up and dump it in
the recycle jug.

I agree that this is one of the best features of the current Taco. If you have changed the filters on
previous Toyota V6s, then you know it's a total PITA. Even after you remove the steel skidplate.

If the topmount filter drips a bit while changing it, there is a catch basin. Nice.

As for Real World MPG, compare these 4x4s that I owned for many years:
> 1980 1st gen Toyota 4x4 pickup, 90hp 20R 2.2-liter I4. 18-19mpg all-around mileage. Horribly
underpowered and bad gas mileage, too. Excellent, but brutal 4x4 capabilities. 3000# weight.
> 1989 3rd gen Toyota 4x4 3.0-liter V6 std cab, about 150hp, about 3500#. Decent ride, super-reliable,
excellent off the road. 19-20 MPG all-around.
> 2004 Tacoma 4x4 190hp 3.4-liter V6 Xtracab TRD. Nice ride, but suspension too soft, all-around
MPG: about 20. Weighs about 3800-3900. Xtracab gives it a huge turning radius. Sadly, Toyota
did not sell the V6 4x4 with std cab, which I prefer. Off the road is OK, and the electric rear diff
lock is helpful.

I don't drive these trucks hard, staying below 70 on the freeways. I do have my current truck
set up with a brake controller and have towed as much as 6000#. Nowadays, I try to stay under
4000# total weight of trailer/cargo.

 

[AaronS]

First truck I ever owned was an '84 Taco 4x4 with the SR22 4 cyl and 5 speed. Bought in '91 as a college senior for $4k. The 4 cyl was underpowered, especially after I lifted it and put 31" mud tires on it (imagine 45 mph on a hill on the interstate), but the truck was pretty much bullet proof. We need a full size truck these days for towing, but it we just needed something for running around and hauling a few things, I wouldn't hesitate to buy another Tacoma.

 

[AaronS]

I think the problem with the T100 was that it was not big enough to really be full sized, but too big to be compact, and didn't really have enough power to be either. I think it could only be had with a smallish V6 and maybe even a 4 cylinder. Plus I think the looks were rather unappealing. There were a couple rolling around here for awhile, but I haven't seen one in ages.

Unappealing yes. I see one around here fairly regularly as a local is still driving one.

 

[reb]

What is the "real world" MPG on the smallest 6 cyl? Is the 4 cyl available in a 4wd model and I wonder what it get's.
I've been semi interested in the Taco but (without any real research) kinda get the feedback that (mpg's) it's not very far at all away from some of the v-8's in half tons. That, if it's true, makes it a little bit harder to sacrifice the interior & bed space.

I bought a '09 Tacoma 4wd, 4-banger, stick shift a few years ago. Just got back from a 2-3000 mile trip, loaded with camping gear, running on all kinds of roads from interstates to back county forest roads to congested city streets. I haven't run the numbers yet, but each tank of gas got about 25 mpg. They can be economical to drive, depending on your driving habits.

 

[teg]

Strangely, the things that you list as shortcomings are some of the things I like about my new Tacoma.

If you're using synthetic, you should be able to go every 10k miles before a change.

I go up and down hills a lot since I live in the CA foothills. When going downhill I used to pull my 2000 Prerunner out of overdrive so the tranny would slow the truck instead of heating up the brakes. Now the truck does it for me. I love it. BTW, it will not downshift if you are above a certain speed.

Cruise control should be used on relatively flat ground, according to most user manuals.

An easy-to-reach oil filter is a luxury especially after you try to change one on your Polaris Ranger.

I know you said this is only your opinion and reading into said opinion where you differentiate the Tacoma from "real trucks" reveals something about your thought process and renders the points you make somewhat meaningless. Just sell it if it makes you as angry as your post lets on. Life's too short to settle on something that makes you so unhappy. Both you and the truck will be better off.

You like dropping down to first gear trying to go 20 mph? ...and why not burn up a 3k transmission instead of $99 brakes. :confused3:

I keep my vehicles, for better or worst, until they die. I didn't drink the toyota kool-aid like consumer reports did... giving a passing grade without much of a thought.

I'll take care of this vehicle, and hopefully it will be problem free. (I'm not betting on it... had a few safety recalls already... really melted my head lamps just driving down the road.) toyota was good at one time, but pretty sure the American made trucks can give it a run for the money. Drink up the cool-aid... :2cents:

Have 232k miles on a 96 Dodge Ram... no plans to replace it any time soon. I'll let you know if the toyota can match it...

I'll give it a bone... it pulls a bunch of weight for it's size, I am happy about that!